Recorded history isn't very long compared to the sun's age, to say nothing of the still-shorter track record of scientific solar observation. The sun may (and probably does) exhibit other epicyclic phenomena on timescales too long for us to have directly measured.
Thank you for this post - it brought me to an interesting(?) realization that in fact, the sun could exhibit cyclic phenomena that have periods longer than the entire existance of bipedal hominids, to say nothing of civilization.
The movie is in contention with "Cruel Intentions" for Worst Fucking Movie of All Time.
Really. I could go on for hours about why I hate that movie so bad, but I'll just note that they played no fewer than FOUR times on my flight paths to and from Australia a few weeks ago.
Nope. They said these kids ranged in age from 10-13, iirc. At 13 I sounded exactly like these kids. I suspect that these kids are a bit nerdy, and would probably remind me of me.:)
Boo-hoo: we don't treat illegal combatants as prisoners of war;
Okay, so we declare war, and then declare that anyone who fights against us is doing so against our will, and thus illegally. Viola! No more POW problems.
<i>we had a few incidents of police brutality (which will be punished)</i>
Uh, there are no US police in Iraq. What you meant to say was "We killed some people more brutally than others, and put on a show, but people will eventually forget about them, and nothing well become of it."
<i>we are so backwards as to execute murderers</i>
The US is the only first-world country that still executes prisoners. In fact, it's written into several extradition treaties that suspects will not be released to the US unless the US Gov't assures that the suspect will not be executed.
<i>we won't dilute our sovereignty by being a party to the Internation Criminal Court (motto: we bring to justice what the United Nations has brought to legislation)</i>
Translation: we won't be held accountable, except to ourselves, and even that's negotiable lately.
<i>Amnesty International has deviated terribly from its original fine purpose (William F. Buckley used to be on its board, I believe--he was at least a member). Their leftist stance has wounded them greatly.<i>
Yeah, because "leftist = bad", right? Only a true conservative could see such a complex issue in terms of black and white.
Forgive me, but I don't believe that 2003 - 10 = 1960. Perhaps my math's wrong...
FWIW, 10 years ago, most then-popular acts did work their way up through the "standard" channels, starting in clubs as the GP mentioned. It's right about that time, IIRC, that the record companies began to package the "Seattle sound" (eg grunge rock), and not 3-4 years later, music was back in the shitter.
I will respond with a critique on your intelligence, and then correct some pedantic misunderstanding you've had of the German legal system, while missing entirely the fact that the basis for your argument was flawed.
You, my friend, have just been baited by a classical troll (c.f. the Jargon File). A pretty good one, too. Chances are that the GP poster has absolutely no idea what this proof is about.:)
If you'll excuse me for asking... what's the joke here? I have noticed what seems to be a dramatic decrease in the number of comments in most stories - are they invisible to me (due to the new subscription stuff)? Has everyone simply gone somewhere else? Obviously, everyone is still here (c.f. the Iraq stories).
Of course, this excludes people who do it on a whim or have serious psychological problems
"What do you mean you don't want to live to see 150? You think it's unnatural? You must have serious psychological problems if you don't want to live at least as long as 150!"
Unfortunately, it's a very slippery slope. I'm extremely happy to see experts taking a serious look at the implications of new life-extending technology.
This, in a nutshell, is why you'll never be a Great Hacker. I'm most likely projecting my own insecurities upon you, but I'm writing and you're not, so there.
I tend to notice little things like you noticed - that catting a binary file will crash my terminal. And then in a fit of boredom, I might even do as you've done and start trimming away sections of the file to find the offending string. I might even write a one-liner that will parse through it for me, automating what would otherwise be a tedious task. I'll eventually end up with a file that is 23 bytes long, and when catted, crashes the terminal.
But I won't ever find out why. That file will remain a curiosity in my $HOME/misc/, to be pondered at until I find that it no longer crashes whatever terminal program I'm using. It might even remain for a while, until one day I have a directory purging session and delete it, wondering "What the hell is this?".
And that, in my opinion, is what separates Great Hackers from the myriad of wannabes. I'm definitely a wannabe. I'm proficient at everything I do, but I'll never spend the (quite possibly small number of) hours actually finding out why that string crashes xterm, and maybe doing something useful with it. The rewards are definitely there, and I've tasted their sweetness in flashes of inspiration, but I just don't have it.
What is it? I don't know. I don't suspect that I ever will, in this particular field. I think that I might just have it in another field (racing cars), but I think it's likely that I'll be Just Proficient at that, too, much as I have been at most everything for my whole life. And that's a pretty depressing thought.
Great Hackers have it, I think. They must. In fact, part of me wants to disbelieve that it exists; that if I'd just push myself a little bit harder, that if I'd just concentrate a little more, that if I would simultaneously dig deeper into and maintain a broader view/mindset of whatever it is that I'm doing, that suddenly I'd become a Great Hacker. I'd know the formula of self-motivation, and from then on it'd be easy. But it just doesn't seem to work that way - I read the exploits of Great Hackers, and marvel at how they do their work, just knowing that I could never do that! Knowing that given the same set of curiosities, my interest or drive or whatever would sputter out, and at best I'd end up with something nifty, that I might be able to make use of in my next bout of Adequate Hacking.
I'm sitting here thinking that I want to type some sort of sage-like advice to you (whoever you are) about forcing yourself to go the extra mile, or don't be lazy, or to eat your Wheaties before you start hacking. Fact is, I know that I've missed the opportunity to grab it. I also know that I've no clue what I did "wrong", and wouldn't know what to do differently, even could I go back in time and change something. I wish that I could have it, but I know that I never will.
I'm still pretty young (19)... maybe I'll figure out how to grab it between here and there.
The current-gen Corvette uses a transverse leaf spring suspension, with dampers - hardly innovative, much less computer controlled.
Its looks are also shamelessly ripped off of the third generation Mazda RX-7, with the exception of that huge billboard-size arse.
Add to that that it's powered by a 1920s-tech pushrod V8 that makes rediculously low specific power (low hp/litre) and revs to a stratospheric (yeah right) 6500 RPM.
It's also stupid-heavy for a "sports car", with the Z06 weighing in at a very portly 3200 lbs (my FC RX-7 weighs 2800 lbs, and I consider it heavy). That's also as light as the car could realistically be made, already having such things as a titanium exhaust system (of a rather inefficient design, I might add).
Sure, it handles and scoots well, but what do you expect, given that it's been basically the same chassis, suspension, and engine since 1982, and costs $55k new? I mean, it only took Chevy 9 years to catch up to Mazda's RX-7.;)
While this would be nice, the fact is that only the RIAA has a voice in the media. If their actual revenues decrease (not % revenue increases, as has been happening - think about that), they'll scream bloody murder and buy some more draconian legislation that you'll be powerless to stop. And you'll hear all about it on CNN, MSNBC, Reuters, etc, etc, etc.
And you know what? All the indie labels that are now rolling in cash will get one editorial article in the Washington Post and NYT.
Fact is, the RIAA has borked the market bad and the only way to deal with them is to artificially reintroduce some sanity. Good luck.
I'm going to go out on a limb here, and ask if you've listened to any Tool lately.:)
Every single one of Tool's albums (with the sole exception of Opiate - it's more of a "garage" album) is masterfully produced and explores some very deep topics - Jungian "breaking through" and connecting with the Freudian alter-ego in AEnima, and dealing with prison rape in Undertow. Much of what you've said applies directly to Tool's music - regardless of musical taste (it may be a little "heavy metal" for some) it's amazing work, all of it.
While they're becoming more and more of a commercial success, Tool is still one of the best bands around. And they're coming to Tallahassee Nov. 7! w00t! (Sorry, I degress...)...and remember, this is coming from someone who almost solely listens to pre-1980 music.:) I live off Zep, Sabbath, Tull, etc (along with the likes of James Taylor, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and the Beatles). Give AEnima and Undertow a shot - you may be suprised.
I wonder just how much of an effect these sorts of promotions have on sales. I've never once thought, "No, I think I'll drink Pepsi this time - I might win a widget!" I probably wouldn't start drinking Pepsi all of the sudden were the promotion going on - IMO, the statistics don't support the sacrifice that switching soft drink brands would be...
If you're serious, drop me an email - I can probably hook you up with someone who can either do this for you, or set you up with whatever you'd need.:) It would be TOOO cool to see a 13BT Delo! With that super-short exhaust path, it'd be loud as hell, though!
I'd estimate cost at $10k for the swap, if you do "most" of the work yourself, and you'd be putting about 300 horsies to the ground (and revving to 8k all day long! [grin])
As the owner of a modified RX-7 Turbo, I can definitively say that your car handles like butt.:)
Just kidding - but I wouldn't class a DeLo as handling "like it's on rails"... it was great for the day, but the early RX-7s of the same era handled better (they were 300lbs lighter, but still)
Brandon Just some friendly ribbing from a fellow sports car enthusiast.
It's the realization that it's not just the page that can't be served, it's that the server doesn't exist anymore. It's the realization that the "virtual" content must be served by a physical thing, and that physical thing both has a limited lifespan and can be destroyed, thus destroying the virtual content as well.
It's actually a word game I play. I make up words that aren't "defined" words that can be derived from their roots and their context. I know, it's a bad habit, and it's going to haunt me some day. Don't be so criticismal:-)
(Picks up cell phone) "Oh my GAWD, Tammy - you won't believe it! George W. Bush, Our President, posts on Slashdot!!!":)
Between people rearending me (it's happened THREE TIMES) while on cell phones, yelling into them (as if that decreases interference), yammering incessently at completely inappropriate times (do I really want to hear about Days of our Lives when I'm in the ER?), and receiving calls at similarly inappropriate times (class, meetings, etc), they've really begun to irritate me. I also completely agree with the self-important remark; I know MANY people who INSIST on owning the "latest and greatest" phone "just because it's new". Argh. To say nothing of the 10 year old kids running around with them - who the hell do THEY need to call?
I want to build a jammer for cell phones in my car, so I can switch it on whenever I drive - that way they'll all hang up when I'm near. Who's with me?
Slashdot Mirror
Thank you for this post - it brought me to an interesting(?) realization that in fact, the sun could exhibit cyclic phenomena that have periods longer than the entire existance of bipedal hominids, to say nothing of civilization.
Nifty.
Brandon
The movie is in contention with "Cruel Intentions" for Worst Fucking Movie of All Time.
Really. I could go on for hours about why I hate that movie so bad, but I'll just note that they played no fewer than FOUR times on my flight paths to and from Australia a few weeks ago.
I... HATE... that movie.
Brandon
Nope. They said these kids ranged in age from 10-13, iirc. At 13 I sounded exactly like these kids. I suspect that these kids are a bit nerdy, and would probably remind me of me. :)
Brandon
BR7 Racing
Boo-hoo: we don't treat illegal combatants as prisoners of war;
Okay, so we declare war, and then declare that anyone who fights against us is doing so against our will, and thus illegally. Viola! No more POW problems.
<i>we had a few incidents of police brutality (which will be punished)</i>
Uh, there are no US police in Iraq. What you meant to say was "We killed some people more brutally than others, and put on a show, but people will eventually forget about them, and nothing well become of it."
<i>we are so backwards as to execute murderers</i>
The US is the only first-world country that still executes prisoners. In fact, it's written into several extradition treaties that suspects will not be released to the US unless the US Gov't assures that the suspect will not be executed.
<i>we won't dilute our sovereignty by being a party to the Internation Criminal Court (motto: we bring to justice what the United Nations has brought to legislation)</i>
Translation: we won't be held accountable, except to ourselves, and even that's negotiable lately.
<i>Amnesty International has deviated terribly from its original fine purpose (William F. Buckley used to be on its board, I believe--he was at least a member). Their leftist stance has wounded them greatly.<i>
Yeah, because "leftist = bad", right? Only a true conservative could see such a complex issue in terms of black and white.
Brandon
Forgive me, but I don't believe that 2003 - 10 = 1960. Perhaps my math's wrong...
FWIW, 10 years ago, most then-popular acts did work their way up through the "standard" channels, starting in clubs as the GP mentioned. It's right about that time, IIRC, that the record companies began to package the "Seattle sound" (eg grunge rock), and not 3-4 years later, music was back in the shitter.
My $0.02
Brandon
Nope. For that conclusion to be true, use would have to equate to understanding.
Government sure as hell doesn't understand computers.
Brandon
I will respond with a critique on your intelligence, and then correct some pedantic misunderstanding you've had of the German legal system, while missing entirely the fact that the basis for your argument was flawed.
Brandon
You, my friend, have just been baited by a classical troll (c.f. the Jargon File). A pretty good one, too. Chances are that the GP poster has absolutely no idea what this proof is about. :)
Kudos!
Brandon
Oh my GOD!
The USA is going to be invaded by the Ostogoths? I'd better move to Constantinople quick, then!
(rolls eyes)
Brandon
If you'll excuse me for asking... what's the joke here? I have noticed what seems to be a dramatic decrease in the number of comments in most stories - are they invisible to me (due to the new subscription stuff)? Has everyone simply gone somewhere else? Obviously, everyone is still here (c.f. the Iraq stories).
What's tha dilly?
Brandon
Damn you! I just spilled my Dew from laughing so hard!
(Kudos)
Brandon
"What do you mean you don't want to live to see 150? You think it's unnatural? You must have serious psychological problems if you don't want to live at least as long as 150!"
Unfortunately, it's a very slippery slope. I'm extremely happy to see experts taking a serious look at the implications of new life-extending technology.
Brandon
You mean "dupe."
WTH?
The site is most certainly not slashdotted. Whore.
Brandon
This, in a nutshell, is why you'll never be a Great Hacker. I'm most likely projecting my own insecurities upon you, but I'm writing and you're not, so there.
I tend to notice little things like you noticed - that catting a binary file will crash my terminal. And then in a fit of boredom, I might even do as you've done and start trimming away sections of the file to find the offending string. I might even write a one-liner that will parse through it for me, automating what would otherwise be a tedious task. I'll eventually end up with a file that is 23 bytes long, and when catted, crashes the terminal.
But I won't ever find out why. That file will remain a curiosity in my $HOME/misc/, to be pondered at until I find that it no longer crashes whatever terminal program I'm using. It might even remain for a while, until one day I have a directory purging session and delete it, wondering "What the hell is this?".
And that, in my opinion, is what separates Great Hackers from the myriad of wannabes. I'm definitely a wannabe. I'm proficient at everything I do, but I'll never spend the (quite possibly small number of) hours actually finding out why that string crashes xterm, and maybe doing something useful with it. The rewards are definitely there, and I've tasted their sweetness in flashes of inspiration, but I just don't have it.
What is it? I don't know. I don't suspect that I ever will, in this particular field. I think that I might just have it in another field (racing cars), but I think it's likely that I'll be Just Proficient at that, too, much as I have been at most everything for my whole life. And that's a pretty depressing thought.
Great Hackers have it, I think. They must. In fact, part of me wants to disbelieve that it exists; that if I'd just push myself a little bit harder, that if I'd just concentrate a little more, that if I would simultaneously dig deeper into and maintain a broader view/mindset of whatever it is that I'm doing, that suddenly I'd become a Great Hacker. I'd know the formula of self-motivation, and from then on it'd be easy. But it just doesn't seem to work that way - I read the exploits of Great Hackers, and marvel at how they do their work, just knowing that I could never do that! Knowing that given the same set of curiosities, my interest or drive or whatever would sputter out, and at best I'd end up with something nifty, that I might be able to make use of in my next bout of Adequate Hacking.
I'm sitting here thinking that I want to type some sort of sage-like advice to you (whoever you are) about forcing yourself to go the extra mile, or don't be lazy, or to eat your Wheaties before you start hacking. Fact is, I know that I've missed the opportunity to grab it. I also know that I've no clue what I did "wrong", and wouldn't know what to do differently, even could I go back in time and change something. I wish that I could have it, but I know that I never will.
I'm still pretty young (19)... maybe I'll figure out how to grab it between here and there.
I think you two are a little confused. :)
;)
The current-gen Corvette uses a transverse leaf spring suspension, with dampers - hardly innovative, much less computer controlled.
Its looks are also shamelessly ripped off of the third generation Mazda RX-7, with the exception of that huge billboard-size arse.
Add to that that it's powered by a 1920s-tech pushrod V8 that makes rediculously low specific power (low hp/litre) and revs to a stratospheric (yeah right) 6500 RPM.
It's also stupid-heavy for a "sports car", with the Z06 weighing in at a very portly 3200 lbs (my FC RX-7 weighs 2800 lbs, and I consider it heavy). That's also as light as the car could realistically be made, already having such things as a titanium exhaust system (of a rather inefficient design, I might add).
Sure, it handles and scoots well, but what do you expect, given that it's been basically the same chassis, suspension, and engine since 1982, and costs $55k new? I mean, it only took Chevy 9 years to catch up to Mazda's RX-7.
Brandon
Uh, that'd be Florida, Bob.
Brandon
While this would be nice, the fact is that only the RIAA has a voice in the media. If their actual revenues decrease (not % revenue increases, as has been happening - think about that), they'll scream bloody murder and buy some more draconian legislation that you'll be powerless to stop. And you'll hear all about it on CNN, MSNBC, Reuters, etc, etc, etc.
And you know what? All the indie labels that are now rolling in cash will get one editorial article in the Washington Post and NYT.
Fact is, the RIAA has borked the market bad and the only way to deal with them is to artificially reintroduce some sanity. Good luck.
Brandon
I'm going to go out on a limb here, and ask if you've listened to any Tool lately. :)
...and remember, this is coming from someone who almost solely listens to pre-1980 music. :) I live off Zep, Sabbath, Tull, etc (along with the likes of James Taylor, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and the Beatles). Give AEnima and Undertow a shot - you may be suprised.
Every single one of Tool's albums (with the sole exception of Opiate - it's more of a "garage" album) is masterfully produced and explores some very deep topics - Jungian "breaking through" and connecting with the Freudian alter-ego in AEnima, and dealing with prison rape in Undertow. Much of what you've said applies directly to Tool's music - regardless of musical taste (it may be a little "heavy metal" for some) it's amazing work, all of it.
While they're becoming more and more of a commercial success, Tool is still one of the best bands around. And they're coming to Tallahassee Nov. 7! w00t! (Sorry, I degress...)
Brandon
I wonder just how much of an effect these sorts of promotions have on sales. I've never once thought, "No, I think I'll drink Pepsi this time - I might win a widget!" I probably wouldn't start drinking Pepsi all of the sudden were the promotion going on - IMO, the statistics don't support the sacrifice that switching soft drink brands would be...
Brandon
If you're serious, drop me an email - I can probably hook you up with someone who can either do this for you, or set you up with whatever you'd need.
I'd estimate cost at $10k for the swap, if you do "most" of the work yourself, and you'd be putting about 300 horsies to the ground (and revving to 8k all day long! [grin])
Brandon
As the owner of a modified RX-7 Turbo, I can definitively say that your car handles like butt.
Just kidding - but I wouldn't class a DeLo as handling "like it's on rails"... it was great for the day, but the early RX-7s of the same era handled better (they were 300lbs lighter, but still)
Brandon
Just some friendly ribbing from a fellow sports car enthusiast.
It's the realization that it's not just the page that can't be served, it's that the server doesn't exist anymore. It's the realization that the "virtual" content must be served by a physical thing, and that physical thing both has a limited lifespan and can be destroyed, thus destroying the virtual content as well.
Yes, it's art, and it's interesting, IMnsHO.
Brandon
It's actually a word game I play. I make up words that aren't "defined" words that can be derived from their roots and their context. I know, it's a bad habit, and it's going to haunt me some day. Don't be so criticismal :-)
:)
(Picks up cell phone)
"Oh my GAWD, Tammy - you won't believe it! George W. Bush, Our President, posts on Slashdot!!!"
Brandon
You've got a kindred soul, mate.
Between people rearending me (it's happened THREE TIMES) while on cell phones, yelling into them (as if that decreases interference), yammering incessently at completely inappropriate times (do I really want to hear about Days of our Lives when I'm in the ER?), and receiving calls at similarly inappropriate times (class, meetings, etc), they've really begun to irritate me. I also completely agree with the self-important remark; I know MANY people who INSIST on owning the "latest and greatest" phone "just because it's new". Argh. To say nothing of the 10 year old kids running around with them - who the hell do THEY need to call?
I want to build a jammer for cell phones in my car, so I can switch it on whenever I drive - that way they'll all hang up when I'm near. Who's with me?
Brandon